Introduction to The National

Who they are
The National are a band formed in 1999 from Ohio who are now known as one of the biggest bands in Indie. The lead singer Matt Berninger is known for his baritone voice, confusing lyricism, 'sleepy music' and red wine. They've evolved a lot from their debut album, with their sound changing from run-of-the-mill white-man indie to slightly more experimental electronic infused white-man indie with more varying song structures and some female guest vocals.

Why I love them

The National are probably the first band that I became fully obsessed with, I've drifted from them slightly but I still listen to a couple of the albums at least once a week. They're not exactly a very happy band, and some would argue that they're a pretty boring band, and I can understand that, they do what they do but they do it so incredibly well and the albums are just so listenable. 

What they sound like
Fairly generic indie somewhat comparable to bands such as the Shins, some Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse as well as some of the band's earlier more rock-oriented work somewhat resembling U2, Frightened Rabbit and Interpol.

Introductory songs
1. Secret Meeting
The first song off the first 'Good album' Secret Meeting has the typical confusing lyrics of a National song but a bit more uplifting song than others and is my persona favourite of theirs.

2. I Need My Girl
One of the more well-known songs by the band it's probably the most traditional love song they have and one of the more obviously sad ones it's a good starting point for the sadder side of the band.

3. Fake Empire
A lot of fans argue that this is the band's best song simply because it's a great start to 'Boxer' setting the tone for the album and just showing off the band's songwriting talent, and is again one of the less depressing songs from the band.

4. Day I Die
Good way to show how the band manages to make such depressing lyrics sound almost positive and disguises just how depressing the content of the music is, also shows the band exploring their slight political side.

5. About Today
One of the fan-favourites from the early days of the band it's incredibly simple and lacks very many lyrics but still manages to really pack a punch.

The albums
The National (2001)
The debut by the band, generally considered to be one of the worst by the band simply because of how simple and uninteresting it is, it doesn't particularly stand out from the crowd, the vocals aren't up to scratch for Matt's normal and the songwriting just isn't there. It does have a couple of okay songs such as 'American Mary' but for the most-part the songs are completely forgettable.
Key Song: Anna Freud

Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers (2003)
Still not considered to be one of the greatest from the band, it's an improvement from the self-titled and begins to show off Matt's screams a bit on songs such as 'Murder Me Rachael' as well as just generally improved songwriting. The downside is that it doesn't have a goal for the sound of the album and has a couple of pretty weak songs.
Key song: Available

Alligator (2005)
The album that got the band famous and what's known as the first great album by the band as well as being my personal favourite. It's the perfect blend of the earlier screamy stuff from the band with the later smooth-sad indie-rock that the band would really come to be known for. It's got some of the bands absolute best songs on it, 'Secret Meeting', 'Abel', 'Mr. November' as well as some underrated ones such as 'Friend Of Mine' and 'Baby, We'll be fine'. This is definitely the album I would reccomend to start at for getting into the National.

Key song: Geese Of Beverly Road

Boxer (2007)

Often considered the best album by the band partly because it has such a cohesive sound and idea of what it is as an album. It focuses less on the rock side, although still features this with songs like 'Squalor Victoria', and more of the understated dad-rock tones with songs such as 'Ada' and 'Green Gloves'. It is considered to be one of the best for a reason, it's the best album the band has, not the best collection of songs.
Key song: Mistaken For Strangers

High Violet (2010)

The album that feels like the party before the hangover or the relationship before the breakup, considering how slow and sad the follow-up album is. High Violet is the longest album by the band (if you go by deluxe edition, which you should) and therefore has a fair bit of variety to it, both in terms of mood and style which to me means that this is the easiest album for someone to like, there's the most variety to it and will appeal to the most people.

Key song: Terrible Love (Alternate Version)

Trouble Will Find Me (2013)

The band's true breakup album with the best album art, Trouble Will Find Me is by far the most obviously sad album that the band have created, with very few of the songs being anything but this. However, the album does have some of the absolute best lyrics that Matt has written, making it a more interesting listen in this regard.

Key Song: I Should Live In Salt

Sleep Well Beast (2017)

A slight departure from the rest of the work by the band with a bit of experimentation with electronicy sounds, sampling and different song structures. It's a fairly divisive album for the band's fans but is probably the most successful as it won a Grammy. It has some of the band's best, most interesting songs, 'Dark Side of the Gym' and 'Day I Die' but also some of the worst, 'Turtleneck'.

Key song: The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness

I Am Easy To Find (2019)

The latest release from the band, it's again a step in a different direction as it is the first to fully feature female voices, again dividing fans because it less heavily features Matt's Baritone voice. It's also the band's most ambitious work with a couple of instrumental interludes which in my opinion just pad the runtime for very little effect besides annoyance. However, there are still some standout tracks, 'Quiet Light', 'Pull Of You'.

Key song: Light Years

Other notable releases
Cherry Tree EP (2004)

A decent EP with the outstanding 'About Today' and a couple of other decent songs such as 'Wasp Nest' but generally forgettable.

The Virginia EP (2008)

Combined on Spotify with A Skin, A Night the EP/album has a mixture of demos and unreleased songs that are mostly inconsequential with a couple more promising tracks such as 'Blank Slate'.

Exile Vilify (2011)

A song written for Portal 2 it's one of the more underrated songs by the band simply because it's not on any of the studio albums but is definitely worth a listen.

Rains of Castomere (2012)

Written for Game Of Thrones it sounds a lot darker than a lot of the band's stuff, especially considering what else they were releasing at the time it's interesting to hear them pull it off well.

What else to listen to if you like them
If you like the band's earlier music, especially the rockier and slightly screamier stuff bands like the Foo Fighters, Have Mercy, Brand New or Frank Turner.
If you like the sadder more indie side of the band you might like work by people such as Wilco, AJJ, Emperor X, Wolf Parade, Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Okkervil River or Elliott Smith.
If you like the slightly more experimental side of the band like Sleep Well Beast you might like Radiohead, Ride, LCD Soundsystem, Bakar or Joy Division.

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